DSS ex-Director Ejiofor speaks on the differences between the 2012, 2020 and planned 2024 protest

If the looming protest materializes between Thursday, August 1, and Saturday, August 10, it will mark the third significant national demonstration in over ten years. 2012, 2020, and the undetermined protest of 2024 have all occurred. On Monday, January 2, 2012, the Occupy Nigeria protest got underway in response to President Goodluck Jonathan's Federal Government's decision on Sunday, January 1, to remove fuel subsidies.

There were protests all throughout the nation, notably in the cities of Lagos metropolitan area (Kano), Surulere, Ojota, Abuja, Minna, and the Nigerian High Commission in London.

Online activity, marches, civil disobedience, and strike activities were the hallmarks of the movement. One of the main characteristics of the protest was the usage of social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter.

At the time, there were rumors that President Bola Tinubu participated in the protest.

The 2020 protest was a decentralized social movement that mostly took place in 2020 in opposition to police brutality in Nigeria. The movement's catchphrase demanded the dissolution of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), a notorious Nigerian Police squad with a lengthy history of abusing civilians. The protest started as a Twitter campaign calling on the Federal Government to dissolve the unit using the hashtag #EndSARS.

The movement's catchphrase demanded the dissolution of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), a notorious Nigerian Police squad with a lengthy history of abusing civilians. The protest started as a Twitter campaign calling on the Federal Government to dissolve the unit using the hashtag #EndSARS. After more information about the unit's abuses came to light in October 2020, the movement saw a rebirth that resulted in large-scale protests in Nigeria's major cities and a great deal of criticism on social media. On Twitter alone, the hashtag #EndSARS has received nearly 28 million tweets. Notably, in the midst of the nation's suffering, the movement—which was mostly spearheaded by young Nigerians—grew to include calls for accountability and decent administration.

The protest of 2012 was different from the 2020 protest. And the organizers of each of the protests were different. President Tinubu even admitted that he has been protesting. The 2020 protest was majorly organized by youths. And if you recall, at the beginning of that protest, they were peaceful until it was hijacked by other interest groups. 

The DSS has said they have identified the sponsors and sources of funding of the 2024 planned protest.